USS Trepang (SSN-674), 1970-1999

The Sturgeon-class nuclear attack submarine, USS Trepang (SSN-674), was commissioned on August 14, 1970, at General Dynamics Electric Boat Division, Groton, Connecticut. Deploying to the Arctic for her first cruise, she carried out scientific experiments concerning the movement, composition, and geological history of the northern ice cap. Trepang patrolled the Atlantic and Caribbean for the next 14 years until she returned to the North Pole for ICEX-85. Following her cruise, she remained on the east coast and patrolled the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediterranean until decommissioned in June 1999. Trepang was disposed of in April 2000 through the Nuclear-Powered Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington.

Some of the submarine's interior components are now on display in the Covert Submarine Operations exhibit area of the National Museum of the U.S. Navy.

Image: 330-CFD-DN-ST-87-02290: USS Trepang (SSN-674). The sail protrudes from the ice near Ice Camp Oval, Arctic, July 5, 1985. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.